We have big news on three fronts on this fine Monday morning. And all the news happens tomorrow. On Tuesday. But I'm announcing it today so that you can color-code your calendars accordingly.
Not that I've personally ever done such a thing, of course.
First, LifeWay Women's Pam Case and Paige Greene will be doing a live webcast tomorrow at 12 pm central. Click on over if you'd like to watch the webcast; I can promise you before it even starts that those two girls will make you giggle.
Second, Priscilla Shirer's new Bible study, One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land, hits stores tomorrow. I haven't seen it yet, but Pam (the same Pam who I mentioned in the previous paragraph - see how all of this information is just connecting beautifully?) tells me that it is absolutely phenomenal. Can't wait to check it out.
Finally, Travis Cottrell's new CD, Jesus Saves LIVE, also hits stores tomorrow. It. is. incredible. I actually saw several of the CDs in my LifeWay store late last week, so you might even be able to pick up a copy a little early. This CD has been such a blessing to our family already, and I know it'll bless yours, too.
My team just finished praying for the sweet baby of one of our own event team members. Anna Miller travels out with us a good bit to work on the Living Proof Live events and has for many years. Her sweet, lively, 17-month-old, Ian was diagnosed with a brain tumor this very week and he is in surgery right this very minute and will be all day.
Please pray specifically with us that Ian will survive the surgery, that his little brain, eye sight, personality and all that God knit together to make him Ian will remain when the surgery is over. We do not know if the tumor is cancerous.
Thank you for letting me put this request before you. We are beseaching and believing God for a miracle.
All righty, girls - here are the five winners of Travis Cottrell's (phenomenal) new CD, "Jesus Saves LIVE."
43 - Pat @ 4:01 pm
15 - Ginny @ 12:47 am
18 - Carol @ 6:02 am
27 - Sallye King @ 1:49 pm
40 - Desha @ 2:39 pm
And finally, a bonus SIXTH CD to the caption that made all of us laugh out loud and clap our hands:
Ivy Six-Pack: "Is this where they are giving out that new hair product?"
Winners, if you'll email your full name and mailing address to boomama205@gmail.com, I'll forward your info to the people who are sending out the prizes.
We've experienced a "first" in our house the last couple of weeks. My son, Josiah has a friend in his second grade class who's mom has been very sick with breast cancer. Their second grade teacher is amazing and every year she encourages her entire class to run the kid's music city marathon here in Nashville. Well, this year it was even more special as every kid in the class trained for the marathon and they all ran for Connor's mom. The class made the news as they wore their pink bandanas, pins, wrist bands, and shoe laces. To say the least, it was powerful to watch these kids rally together and support the cause.
The battle ended a little over a week ago when Connor's mom went home to be with the Lord. Josiah was really sad, but as I expected, he embraced the fact that she was in heaven. The one thing I guess I didn't expect was that he began to talk about how old Connor's mom was and how old I was. Internally, I began to panic with the thought of God taking me home before my children were grown. We decided to go to the viewing and I was so glad we went. Many of Connor's buddies were there to hang out with him in the room where all the food was free! I saw Connor laugh and play in the midst of his pain.
So you know, Josiah accepted Christ one month before his 6th birthday. On the way home that night, he asked me, "Mom, what if I turn away from God? Will I still go to heaven?" What a grown up question. It gave me the opportunity to remind him that because he has chosen Jesus, he was in the palm of His hand, and God was never gonna let him go. He asked more questions and our walk through downtown Franklin, and driving home was one I will forever remember. He prayed for Connor and his family that night with sadness in his voice, but assurance of his own salvation. My little guy put on his sports coat that night and became a little man. I was very proud of him.
Have any of you had a similar experience? I would love to hear your stories. It's so amazing how God uses each of us to learn from each other, gain insight, encouragement, and grow closer to Him in the process.
Please continue to pray for the women who are attending Living Proof Live in Laramie, Wyoming this weekend. Also pray for Beth, Travis and the entire event team as they share the love and Truth of God for His glory.
Since it's Memorial Day weekend, I've been thinking about all the brave men and women who have fought and died for our freedom. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be paid.
It makes me think of a story that Beth shared at Living Proof Live in New Orleans. She read part of an article about a soldier named Aaron Davis who had recently been awarded a Silver Star, which is the third highest commendation a U.S. soldier can receive.
It's an incredible story of bravery in the face of death and she highlighted this quote from the article:
"With shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) lodged behind his right eye, Davis later told his parents, Davlyn and Alvin Davis of Kilgore, 'The blood was gushing down my face. When I called out to God, 'Are You with me?' I heard Him answer, 'I Am, I Am.' "
I AM.
The I AM that sent Moses to guide the Israelites out of slavery, the I AM that helped a young David slay a giant, the I AM that sent his son to die on a cross for our sins.
The night of Travis Cottrell's live CD recording, our buddy Rich took a whole bunch of fun pictures. This one, taken about thirty minutes before the service started, is one of my favorites.
And if you'd like to win one of five copies of Travis' new CD, Jesus Saves LIVE - which will be released on June 2nd - leave your very best caption for the picture in the comments.
We'll close this giveaway on Wednesday, May 27 and announce winners on Thursday, May 28.
There's a survey going on at the Living Proof Ministries blog. Beth is looking for some anonymous answers from men regarding insecurity for a book she is currently working on.
Ladies, if you think the man in your life might be willing to share a little insight, then send him to this post that explains exactly what Beth is looking for.
This past weekend some other bloggers and I met LifeWay Women's Pam and Paige (they're the nuts in the video to the right) for supper at one of our favorite barbecue restaurants here in Birmingham. The conversation was just as scattered and lively as you might imagine; over the course of about an hour and a half we talked about kids, women's events, Jesus, recipes, horseback riding (?!?), relationships and how sweet our friend Lora Lynn's baby is. We covered some topical ground to be sure.
The night was so much fun, and sitting at the table with Pam and Paige made me think about how the AllAccess blog has been going strong for almost a year. Melanie and I have had the best time going to different events and sitting under absolutely incredible teaching (like so many of y'all, we're "moms in the seats" who have been encouraged so much by LifeWay's women's ministry as we continue to learn and grow in our faith), and we have met some great bloggy friends along the way. It's been a blast.
We've loved being able to give away different Bible studies, books, CDs and event tickets on AllAccess this past year, and we're hoping to do even more of that. But in addition to what we've been doing, what new kinds AllAccess giveaways would you like to see? More Bible studies? More event tickets? Some event perks (reserved seat giveaways, a free trip for you and a friend to an event, etc.)? I'm not saying that all of those things are going to happen, mind you - I'm just wondering what would be the most appealing and exciting to you?
Thanks in advance for your input - and if you have any additional ideas, please feel free to chime in! I know your suggestions will be a big help to Pam, Paige and Kris as they finalize LifeWay Women's plans for 2010.
It's hard to believe that it's been almost four months since Melanie and I (and so many of you!) made the trip to Atlanta to see Travis Cottrell record his Jesus Saves LIVE CD. I will remember that night for the rest of my life, and I still think it's a wonder that every single rafter in that sanctuary didn't come tumbling to the ground when Angela Cruz sang "Mercy Seat." I've never heard anything like it.
The CD hits stores on June 2nd, and it is absolutely phenomenal (repeat after me: PHE-NOM-E-NAL). We're gonna have us a little photo caption contest next week so that we can give away a few copies as prizes. In the meantime, I thought y'all might like to see this preview video.
Last thing: "Jesus Saves" is playing on Christian radio (right now it's number 18 on the inspirational charts), so if you have a Christian radio station in your area and you love the song, you can totally call in and request it.
(Maybe you'll even be caller #14 and win some sort of fabulous prize pack that involves Petra albums and two tickets to Amy Grant's "Age to Age" tour.)
(Sorry. I am powerless to resist the 80s nostalgia.)
I am so excited because Vicki Courtney's new Bible study "Five Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter" is finally out. I actually got to be a part of the taping, but still have yet to see the finished product.
Please don't let the fact that I was part of the taping keep you from doing the study. Just focus on Vicki and pay no attention to the big goob sitting on the couch trying to find the book of Nehemiah in her Bible.
But I can assure you that based on the messages Vicki delivered during the taping, it's going to be incredible. It would be a great opportunity to get together with other moms of daughters and encourage each other as we try to raise these girls to be women after God's own heart.
And stay tuned, because rumor has it that we'll be doing a giveaway for it in the next couple of weeks.
If y'all are anything like me, you are counting down the days until school is out. I am beyond ready for my little boy and me to have some lazy days of sun and swimming and snowcones. Suffice it to say that right now an alarm clock is my sworn nemesis.
But do you know what's not my sworn nemesis? Sleeping late. I am such a fan of the sleeping late.
Anyway, in addition to planning all the not waking up early we'll be doing this summer, I've also been planning a couple of quick weekend trips. And I thought that if you live anywhere near one of these four LifeWay women's events in June, you might want to plan a weekend trip, too.
As many of y'all know, today is the National Day of Prayer. Right this very minute our LifeWay friends Beth Moore and Travis Cottrell are in Washington, DC - along with Shirley and James Dobson - to serve our nation through prayer and praise during this critical time in our history.
This morning there's a live broadcast and webcast that starts at 8AM central - you can find more information right here. There are also lots of local events going on, and it's oh-so-easy to check out what's happening in your area.
A sweet friend and I actually had a conversation yesterday about some of the ways we feel burdened for our country right now (and our concerns cross party lines and candidate preferences, just to be clear). Even as I type this post, the words from "Hear Us From Heaven" are running through my mind: "Lord, we're calling out to you, crying out to you, forgive us of our sin, heal our land. As we seek your holy face, we turn from all our wicked ways, hear from heaven even now as we pray."
Lord, we pray that you would draw the leaders of our nation to yourself. We pray that they will have wisdom that comes from Truth so that their decisions will honor you. We pray that we, as Christ-followers, would be bold, courageous and full of grace. We pray that you would continually open our eyes to the physical and spiritual needs of people all over the world so that we can be doers of the Word - not just hearers of it. Thank you that your mercy and your forgiveness fall fresh every single day. In Jesus' Name.
Last year, on the Living Proof Ministries blog, they decided to do a summer Bible study. Thousands of women joined in every week and they went through Kelly Minter's study, "No Other Gods" and it was just an amazing experience.
The good news is that they're doing it again this summer and announced yesterday that the study will be Jennifer Rothschild's "Me, Myself and Lies". Go check out the post on the LPM blog if you're interested in being a part of it and if you want to purchase the study you can click here to order it.
When Melanie and I were at Living Proof Live in New Orleans a few weeks ago, Travis and the praise team sang a new arrangement of "Victory In Jesus" that's actually going to be on Travis' new (OH-SO-AWESOME) CD that comes out in June.
And while they sang, things got a little lively up on the stage.
I just wish that Beth would learn to be a smidge more joyful when she worships, you know? She's just so reserved.
Oh, I am quite the jokester.
And I hope the music puts a spring in your step this fine Monday!
Over the last week there has been a group of bloggers in Kolkata, India as part of a trip with Compassion International. I had the privilege of going to the Dominican Republic with Compassion back in November of last year and cannot even state what a life-changing experience it is to see that level of poverty.
At the same time what is even more humbling is to see the complete joy of so many in the midst of circumstances we can't even imagine. They have a contentment that truly surpasses all earthly understanding and it convicted me to the core about my own peace and contentment.
As I've read all their posts this week, I have cried more tears than I have since my own trip to the DR. God is truly using them in an amazing way. To read all the posts from this week, you can go to Compassion Bloggers and follow their journey.
I've also spent a lot of time reflecting on Isaiah 58: 6-8.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard."
Last year, for the first time ever, churches everywhere had the opportunity to host Beth Moore for a weekend of ministry through the miracle of modern technology known as the simulcast.
You can read some of the comments about the experience by reading the comments on this post written after last year's event.
The good news is that there will be another Living Proof LIve simulcast opportunity, live from Green Bay, Wisconsin, this summer on August 28-29th. Which makes me wonder, what did we do in the days before satellites and internet?
I mean, other than sit around and whittle wood.
If you think your church might be interested in participating in this awesome opportunity then you can click over here to find out all the details.
Melanie
Melanie
Sophie
Sophie
Pam
Pam
Paige
Paige
Kris
Kris